General Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy

The course is structured in two modules: General Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy.
The main objective of the general Pharmacology module is to learn the bases necessary to understand the activity of the drugs, both of natural or synthetic origin. The course is intended to provide the student the bases of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics while taking into account the most important neurotransmitters and their systems, from biogenic amines, to acetylcholine, from GABA to excitatory aminoacids and the arachidonic acid system.
The Pharmacognosy module will provide the student the basic knowledge about pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic of natural or synthetic biologically active molecules, with emphasis on how these processes will affect pharmacological activities of active compounds and their final therapeutic effects. This module will also explore more in detail pharmacologically active preparations from natural sources (with special emphasis on the preparations present in the European Pharmacopoeia), their active components and therapeutic applications.

At the end of the General Pharmacology module, the student should be familiar with the endogenous targets of the drugs (receptors, enzymes, pumps and transporters, ionic channels) and their relationship with the endogenous systems, such as sympathetic, parasympathetic, dopaminergic, serotoninergic, histaminergic, GABAergic, excitatory aminoacids as well as arachidonic acid system. In addition, students should have enough pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics notions to understand the function of active substances, both of natural or synthetic origin.For the Pharmacognosy module is expected that the student will acquire: knowledge of the mechanisms responsible for the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of pharmacologically active molecules, either natural or synthetic; knowledge of the main pharmacokinetic parameters; knowledge of the main classes of pharmacological targets, with a specific focus on membrane and intracellular receptors; ability to evaluate the behavior of a pharmacologically active compound based on its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics; knowledge of the pharmacologically active compounds and therapeutic activities of medicinal drugs/botanicals belonging to different chemical or therapeutic classes; ability to identify potential pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic interactions between drugs or botanicals/drugs.